Is this a bigger deal than I thought? I cannot find a hotel room in Center City for the weekend of 12/6 and I'm being told it's because of the Army-Navy game--not good planning by my daughter's college for Parents Day... If I wait until closer to the date, is there a chance that rooms will open up on the various sites such as Priceline, Quikbook, etc.?

Yes, Army/Navy game IS a big deal.

Does your daughter's college have any resource? Perhaps the college has taken out hotel blocks at several area hotels?

If you have checked various hotels and they are all showing SOLD OUT, you WILL NOT be able to book a room through Priceline because there won't be any inventory.

Will you have a car? Perhaps look into staying outside of the city, like along Main Line or Cherry Hill New Jersey?

You don't have to wait until last minute to use Quickbook. They have dates anytime.

I took a quick look at gophila.com (Philadelphia's official tourist website). They have a hotel booking page and I put in 12/5-12/7, and there are plenty of choices in Center City, starting @ $259/n at the Latham hotel.

December seems very late for a parents' weekend but to answer your question, yes, Army-Navy is a very big deal. Even without the game, though, a parents' weekend can result in tight hotel space because, with so many colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area, there can be several schools scheduling the same dates for parents to come into town.

As a bit of a warning, please also note that early May is even worse for hotels due graduations and regattas. Many schools graduate at the same time each year or know their dates a year+ ahead, so savy parents book their graduation hotels and restaurants very, very far in advance. (This isn't exclusive to Philadelphia, though. A million years ago in another multi-college city, I thought I was so smart to book my parents' hotel room for graduation weekend during the first week of senior year and recall having to tell them their first choice was already sold out.)

To your problem, though, have you tried the smaller places like the Alexander Inn or maybe Rittenhouse 1715? The suggestion of suburbs (Wayne Hotel, Radnor Hotel, Conshohocken Marriott, chains in Plymouth Meeting, PA or Cherry Hill, NJ) is also a good one.

Thanks, everyone. The letter from the school announcing Parents Day is dated 10/31, and I just received it. They did block rooms at four hotels, but they are all sold out. I am already booked at the Alexander Inn for graduation in May; they too are sold out for parents weekend/Army-Navy game. I'll just keep checking those sites as well as various hotel websites; I've stayed at just about all of them...

Probably not the optimum solution, but you might be able to find something in either Delaware or NJ that is on the Amtrak line or Septa.

Just for fun, I did a search on Kayak.Com for hotels within ten miles of Center City Philadelphia that weekend, checking in on Friday and not departing til Monday. It found 103 such hotels, mostly on Orbitz or Hotels.Com -- both of which will list a price and then say, after you go there, tell you "No room available at that price." However, the Sofitel had vacancies, as did several airport hotels. The latter are FAR from optimal for a Philly visit, but they ARE available.

You should also check vrbo.com and see if someone has a condo rental for that weekend.

I'm still seeing A NUMBER of hotels bookable through gophila.com, arriving 12/5 departing 12/7; for 2 nights.

Sheraton Society Hill @ 229/n
Latham @ 259/n
Reniassance Warwick @ 263/n
Westin @ 309/n
Park Hyatt @ 362/n

Which college?
I have stayed at the Marriott in Conshohocken, the Courtyard Devon, the Courtyard Valley Forge/KOP, the Residence Inn Valley Forge. All are nice and a reasonable distance from Philly. Have you looked at the two hotels in University City?

Thanks again all. I did get a room at the Latham; I am flying in and prefer to be in Center City as she is a grad student at University of the Arts on South Broad.

Hotels at the airport are a quick train ride away from the city!

LoveMaine - I'm glad it worked out. Have a good time in Philadelphia! Can't say how nice or not nice the Latham is, but the location of the hotel is great.

The Lathan is a great location but the hotel is kind of dumpy. I would try the Warwick Radision which is right down the street and has recently been remodeled. Great location and rooms.

Hi Denise: I've stayed at the Warwick a few times and like it very much, but it's not available...

I just checked their website and they show rooms available for the weekend. I would suggest calling them.

Reporting back: the Latham was just fine; the staff were very nice, my room was large, clean, bright and cheery. The hotel does need some updating, mostly in the form of paint and paper, but the location is perfect and it worked out well. I think I was the only one there over the weekend who was not going to the Army-Navy game (as the other guests loved to point out to me), but they were great fun. All in all, it was a great weekend, and I can't say enough about the James Castle and quilt exhibits at the art museum, not to mention dinner at Ten Arts, breakfast at DiBruni's, lunch and later cocktails at the Sofitel--and on and on. Thanks for your help everyone!